The use of high energy rays, such as X-rays, to render images of visibly occluded objects is known in the art. This includes the non-film-based use of X-rays to non-destructively examine the contents of cargo containers or the like to facilitate an inspection for illegal and/or dangerous objects. An increased risk of terrorist activity has brought a corresponding increased interest in effectively and efficiently applying such technology to facilitate the detection of objects of particular concern such as conventional and/or nuclear explosive devices and payloads.
Notwithstanding such interest, present practices in this regard tend to often yield insufficient information with respect to permitting a relatively rapid conclusion to be drawn regarding a given object's standing as a benign item or a potential threat that merits further investigation. In particular, many such prior imaging practices yield information regarding a given object's shape but not necessarily a sufficient quantity of information regarding the object's chemical constituency. To put it more pointedly, and as a significant though not exclusive example, many such prior approaches are unable to provide relatively direct information regarding whether a given object is comprised of nuclear materials or something of less concern.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.